THIS WEEKEND: The Bruins (17-3, 7-1 MPSF) hosts USC in the final regular season game for both teams this Saturday at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. USC is currently 18-4, and ranked No. 2 in the nation. UCLA has played USC three times this season, beating the Trojans twice, including in the MPSF game at USC. Game time is noon, three and a half hours before kickoff of the football game.

The Trojans have won their last five games, dating back to October 22 when they lost to UCLA, 11-9, in the championship game of the Northern California Tournament. Last weekend they defeated UC Santa Barbara, 9-2, to finish 6-2 in the MPSF. They are led by Tim Wollthan who has 30 goals this season. Daniel Lontay has 26 goals. Darin Smith and Bozidar Damjanovic have split time in goal.

Bailey, from San Clemente, was an All-MPSF honorable mention selection in 1999. This year, he leads the team in steals with 29 and has a career high 18 goals. He also has 16 assists and seven field saves.

Brown, a 1999 Honorable Mention All-American, is second on the team in goals this year with 30. The playmaker from Santa Ana has seven assists and 12 steals this year. Last year he earned third-team All-MPSF honors and was fourth on the team with 32 points.

Kern, a 2000 Olympian and 1999 NCAA Player of the Year, is third on the team with 24 goals in only 11 games. A native of Honolulu, HI, Kern is a three time All-American and has led the team in scoring the last three years.

Parker has scored a career-high 24 goals this season and has scored goals in the last seven games. The native of Orinda has been a consistent scorer for the Bruins in his four years, racking up 76 goals in his career.

Wellen, a 1999 honorable mention All-American,is one of the nation's top defenders and leads the team in field saves for the second year. He also has 10 goals this season and is second on the team with 17 steals. Wellen is from Mill Valley.

Wright, the 2000 captain and three time All-American, leads the team in goals (36) and assists (26) this season. The Seal Beach native, has scored 131 goals in his career and has led the team in assists the last three years.

LAST WEEKEND: UCLA lost its first game since mid-September, falling to UC Irvine, 9-8 at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center last Sunday. The game was tied at seven with seven minutes remaining, but UCI's Jeff Powers scored with 4:02 left to give UCI a 8-7 lead. He scored what proved to be the game winner with 20 seconds remaining on a four-meter penalty shot to give the Anteaters a 9-7 lead. Matt Flesher's goal with 11 seconds remaining closed the gap, but UCI held on to the ball in the final seconds for the win. Flesher and Kern scored three goals each for UCLA, and Kyle Baumgarner and Dave Parker also contributed goals. Brandon Brooks made four saves in goal.

RANKINGS: UCLA was ranked No. 1 in the November 8 US Collegiate Water Polo poll. USC was ranked second, and UC Irvine was third. California and Stanford round out the top five. Rankings are released every Wednesday, and can be found at http://www.collegiatewaterpolo.org.